The Know Show – theme, staying positive in a world of negativity

We had a week off and we are now back for our final three shows of the season. Welcome to The Know Show. Join Andrea T Edwards and Joe Augustin (but not Tim Wade who is on holiday) so Phillipa Edwards will be joining us this week as co-anchor! Every show, we review the news that’s been capturing attention around the world and we are thrilled to have multi-award winning speaker, event strategist, Master MC (online and in-person), and all round legend, Warwick Merry CSP, CVP joining us this week. 

The theme – how do you stay positive when click bait, newspapers, news shows, and all other information seems to focus on the negative? That’s a challenge we all face in a world dealing with an Infodemic, misinformation, fake news, as well as constant ‘news shocks’ that shake us to our core. What is the secret to keeping your sanity in this time? Warwick will share his tips and you can also expect a “voice-off” between Warwick and Joe!

The Know Show is a Livestream held every Friday, where Andrea T Edwards, Tim Wade and Joe Augustin, and at least one special guest, review the news that’s getting everyone’s attention, as well as perhaps what requires our attention. We’ll talk about what it means to us, the world and we hope to inspire great conversations on the news that matters to all of us. 

The Know Show is based on Andrea T Edwards Weekend Reads, which are published every Saturday on andreatedwards.com, and covers the climate crisis, Covid 19, topical moments in the world, global politics, business, social issues and passion/humor/history. Join us. 

#TheKnowShow #UncommonCourage

You can find me Andrea T Edwards | The Digital Conversationalist and Welcome - Uncommon Courage - An Invitation. 

My book Uncommon Courage, an invitation, is here https://mybook.to/UncommonCourage 

My book 18 Steps to an All-Star LinkedIn Profile, is here https://mybook.to/18stepstoanallstar 

Transcript

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Welcome to the no show. My name is Andrew Edwards. And I Philip redwoods. Sitting in for them, Wade, and in your cruise director. Thank you for joining us show today. This is the no show where we try to have a conversation every week that hopefully leaves the audience slightly more informed than they were when we came in, and maybe with more perspectives than they had before they came in for sure. And as part of the show as well, we always bring in additional folks. So today we have a double barreled sort of additional perspective. We have of course, Philippa, who's not usually on the show joining us here and our fourth wheel if you like, which makes it a car I guess, is someone who is well he's he's given me his introduction. Yeah, I might, I might have it wrong. So Warwick Mary from the castle Warwick. From bogans Ville. Is that about right? Let's get let's get him on. Maybe it's Earl of Warwick. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. Yeah. Official, what's the official introduction that you'd normally have at one of these fancy events? I just press this magic button. And I don't know if it's gonna come up. So worried very certified, speaking professional legend that there we go. Oh, legend. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you need a map to know what's going on with you. Right. That's what the legend is. That's it. That's it. We need a legend to find out what's the spirit. But a multi award winning legend in this last year. They've just stuck here behind me. So yes, I'm very fortunate. I recently was the recipient of a couple of awards, which was great. So tell us why you got. Okay, let's talk about me for a sec showing. So I've been very prominent in the online event space for the last couple of years. And so I one breakthrough speaker for my ability to switch over to online events. And I also won the inevitable Award, which is the most prestigious award in the speaking Association here in Australia for over 20 years of service contributing to the association. So on that, and then last year, I won the 2011 Global outstanding intrapreneur for the not for profit sector. So, which was fantastic from the global intrapreneur Institute. So yeah, so I've just been picking up accolades. Everywhere I go. I was gonna say all that and all you could get as an Ikea shelf for it. Right? So it's just like, you know, it's okay. IKEA does a good job. Yeah. Anyway, so the show's format, if anyone's joining us, for the first time is one where we kind of have a look at what's happening in the news. And if anything catches our fancy as well, we'll throw in our comments and our opinions about that. And we have a theme that is largely based around the guest every week. And I guess that makes Warrick a very positive person, because you know it apart from you know, COVID tests, I think, I think you don't want to be positive at this time. Yeah, so I just went when I was invited on and thank you so much for the invite. I'm interested in what you want to talk about it. And it is that how do we how do we stay positive in a negative world? Because it seems that everything to get cut through even if it's just on social media and tick toxin, and the the latest politicians here in Australia, we've just had our vote. It's the negative element that that gets through, look at any new service, the negative story, so how do you stay positive? So I'm looking forward to that discussion. If nothing else, I'd love to get ideas from you guys how I can stay positive when it's feels overwhelmingly negative at times. So yeah, we'll hit there. Ya know, I'm looking forward to that chat. Definitely. So shall we get into the news and see what's happened? I just wouldn't come up. It looked like she was gonna say something. And then she didn't know. I was gonna say something before that. It's amazing that work after 20 years of service to the industry gets a breakthrough award. And that just shows you you can always reinvent yourself. Right, and there's one for overnight success. Yeah, so yeah, look, it was just it was that COVID Helio industry, like many industries really, really, really bad. And I'd already been doing a lot of online work and so I was able to be quite successful online and share that skill with others so and doing stuff like this is part of what helps it so now we can have this international conversation, sharing different perspectives, which I think is fantastic. That's one of the things I love about technology. So let's get cracking shall we? Let's head for news did did the latest news update is Andrea already, right? So the first thing is obviously the jubilee celebrations are offered full swing. I don't know if you guys have been paying attention. We're getting the news of who's there who's not? Who's it acceptable in the family this year and who's an outcast? But I think we can all agree that Prince Louis is looking like he's the star of the show. Did you see some of the footage in? Response? Yeah, you always gotta have a kid there. It's like kids at church, right? Yeah. Who knows, though? Dad or the kid, hopefully the dad's not picking his nose in church. That's an inside joke. Anyway, family sacred sacred the Indians clan. And I believe, I believe that the Royals also somebody else who does the picking for them? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the Royal nose picker. It was, um, there was some clandestine shots of Harry and Megan, through windows, talking to some of the duchesses and things and they actually look really happy, and quite not can't kind of look like a normal family photo, like taken from paparazzi with a very large lens. And Andrew, poor fella, he's got COVID The poor lab, so he's not going. Yeah, yeah. It's timely, timely. One of my least favorite American politicians. And you know, that's pretty big competition. Is Marjorie Taylor Greene. And have you guys noticed? Yeah, okay. So she she was involved on January 6. Anyway, so big story this week, she was warning supporters that the government is planning to monitor their eating habits and zap them until they eat fake meat grown in a peach tree dish. And obviously, that was the thing that got Twitter going peach tree dish. And not only and so she's formerly known as the one who warned of the despacho. Police. Yeah, claims that the feds are planning to track bowel movements to well, they actually already do back to you. It's kind of tracing. Yeah, so she's kind of right. But the thing is, I don't think anyone's Yeah, I don't think you can actually pinpoint where the actual fecal matter comes from. Specifically, it's just the plant somewhere around the town. So I spend that much time in school, but I know exactly where it comes from. It's smacks it smacks of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where Douglas Adams talked about you go to a planet, and they're so focused on their environment that What did you eat, they weigh and what you excrete, they weigh. And so if there's a weight difference, they chop off a bit of your body till they got the weight difference, as you leave, that he was talking fictional stuff. She's one step away from it. What I don't get about politicians like, Marjorie, is that it seems like they've failed a reality test. Is there some kind of bare minimum requirement we have for our politicians? Is there? Is there a way that we get rid of politicians through challenges their perception on what is normal? I don't know. It's like, it feels crazy that we have people like this representing their constituents, and saying this kind of stuff and getting airtime. And just like, I don't understand, like, what can you say that it's just a smokescreen sometimes to like in Australia, that awful Catherine woman in wasn't coverage of the seat. She's a trans against trans kids. That was pretty much her platform in a blue ribbon seat. And the only reason why she was put there was to do to do dog whistle. Far Right Christian people that Scott thought he was letting down. And that Marjorie Taylor Greene is put in exactly the same place for the exactly the same reason. While you're watching her, you're not noticing other things going on? Yeah, I agree. But does a crazy conspiracy theory believers in the Republican Party and and I'm with work, you know, it's like, there has to be a bare minimum level of intelligence, you know? Yeah. You know, and I think part of Trump's success was, you know, he was spouting conspiracy theories, and he's got access to all of the information in America. And so people are sitting there going, well, he's the president, so he knows what's really going on. So therefore, these conspiracy theories must be true. You know, and it's to me that was a we moved into some really dangerous territory there. Oh. Sorry, Philippa. We got into we go into a place where politics is no longer about politics. You know, it's this game, though. We're playing chess, we're putting putting this one in there to crap on about, you know, we're going to send him what you're eating to change it to non Meat, meat. And we've got this one over here talking about conspiracy theories and stuff, so that it takes the focus away of what we're really doing, which is making money for ourselves. And it's like, Yeah, but you're there to manage the country for the people. So should you be doing that? If and if you make a mistake shouldn't go we've made a mistake. You know, I'm just it's we've we've gone that too far we've gone too far to the theatrics and Australia is just as bad as the US and some of the stuff that we do. Bobcat, like bobcat is quite a theatrical individual. Yet I was talking to someone the other day who said he's actually really quite smart and has some some interesting solutions that may will work I don't know much about it, but I just see the crazy stuff about him on telly at time so I'm the less about the format the the theatrics and more about, can we get our country and our globe back on track? Because he's so off track. So much money in things, clicks and hits and things. So what Yeah. Well, I think you've been to kind of say that now it's a chess game. I think politics has always been a chess game. Now. It's just become tic tac toe, though, right? I mean, it's just a simple. It's paid by stupid people. You know, one of the one of the we're gonna talk more about politics, especially Australian politics in a minute so we can continue this. But there's a breaking piece of news, North Korea has assumed leadership of the United Nations disarmament group. Oh, yeah. To do that. Currently, it's it's only temporary, but other that kind of the irony of it was interesting. Yeah, they're like, nuclear weapons, but we'll look after him. Well, yeah, we'll just shoot off a couple more more rockets. Because you know, Biden has been in the in the region. So Top Gun Maverick Have you guys seen it yet? I I never watch it. I have never watched me because there's just something about Tom Cruise. I don't know something. But I watched it with Atticus the other night. It's not as bad as I thought it was gonna be. He wasn't a better so Homer rhotic I was not expecting so much. There was so so much presenting. Done by the male people. You watch it again. And you know, and then there's this one scene where um, can't remember who was Tom standing here and there's a boy looking at him lying and he's just like, opening and closing his legs, his knees and it's like, Oh my God. And when you look at it back when you guys watch it, but apparently the new ones really good. Yeah, I've heard a lot of stuff about the new one, but I've also heard a lot. There's been a ton of marketing there has been a big buzz about it. They have delayed it by years. But you're also Kelly McGillis. Kelly McGillis was not invited to come along. Neither was wasn't Goldie Hawn, who was who was the foot and for whatever reason, so they've been a Tom Cruise now has a new girlfriend who's about 10 years younger than Kelly McGillis would have been. So it's, it's interesting. There are some side issues that have been presented because of it. And it's around women in Hollywood. And there's not that many roles for older women or more mature women. And it's just so it's very interesting. But there's also a line of thought my brother who my brother in law, who's a big fan of this kind of stuff, he's just like, I felt like a two hour ad for the American military. So, okay, whatever works? Well, the first one is increased recruitment into the Navy by 500%. So, yeah, like, it's it's massive, you know. And then when you hear this, there's a whole bunch of stories going on around the US Navy at the moment that I've covered in previous weekend reads where morale is low. There's one ship that's like, got so many suicides on the ship. And the command is just basically a bunch of assholes. And there's all sorts of stuff going on in the in the US military, but specifically in the Navy. That's getting a lot of attention, obviously, in COVID. We heard of the big ships in lockdown, because a whole bunch of people got COVID on the ships and yeah, so it's, it's kind of interesting. But yeah, but it made $124 million in its first opening weekend in the US, which is the biggest success ever for Tom Cruise and an opening one. It's it's been celebrated, because like all of the successful movies in the last few years have tended to be more in the Marvel sort of comics genre. So potentially a return to the cinemas. And obviously that's a big issue for the for the cinemas as well. But also Did you guys hear that? What's his name? Val Kilmer? He can't speak. So I don't I'm not really sure what's going on. I might be similar to what Bruce Willis is going through. So he froze cancer, he had throat he no longer has a voice and so they have some AI that he uses to talk for him. But he removed it but he had throat cancer and as a consequence of the treatment, he no longer can speak at all. So he was in the movie but in a non speaking role is what I understand. Yeah. Which is which was interesting. So so they didn't have the older woman but they could have a man that can't speak. Right? Yay for white men, old white men, I'm planning to be one. Call my own style Warwick. self interest. So let's each face Nose, nose nose. Right. Let's move on. So there's a an actress called Moses engram. And that's the latest thing. And there's been some coverage on some terrible racist racism towards her. She's one of the stars in Obi Wan Kenobi. And I haven't watched it and I will not watch it. And it's a pretty this stuff keeps happening, right. But one of the things, one of the comments that I thought was really interesting, she went on Instagram and said that the thing that bothers me is this feeling inside of myself, that no one has told me, but this feeling that I have to shut up and take it, that I have to grin and bear it. And I'm not built like that. So I wanted to come on and say thank you to the people who show up for me in the comments and the places that I am not going to put myself and to the rest of y'all y'all weird. I agree. And obviously your McGregor released a video as well condemning the racism but it was when when are we ever going to get beyond this shit? And interesting. Your Star Trek also came out and condemned the racism as well, which is very interesting considering the Star Trek versus Star Wars factor. But here's the thing. If she had been colored in green paint, or had some prosthesis with weird hairdos, no one would have said the thing. It's because she's a black famer. And this and this is the thing like the Star Trek Star Wars are the most inclusive, kind of theatrical propositions, you know, there's all shapes and sizes, and yet as and it's typically white male, fanboys, who, for whatever reason, think that it's not okay. And I'm like, Yeah, as a real Star Wars fan. i It's, I find it abhorrent in and I just don't get it. I just don't get it. And it's Kelly Tran had the same thing when she did when she you know, was in Star Wars as well, as they continue. And this is the this is the evil of social media, particularly Twitter. It's just a horrible place to be. And the vehemence and violence is just unsettling. And I don't think, I don't know if it's gonna go ahead. But I don't think Elon Musk owning it is going to be any improvement at all. If anything, it will probably be getting a whole lot worse. Yeah. Yeah. And we still don't know if that deal is gonna go through. So I suspect it won't, because Elon Musk has come out and said all this stuff. And Twitter's just like, en you can't say that kind of stuff. So it's not going to surprise me with all falls through. Yeah, I know, it'll cost him. But anyone else want to? Did you have some? Oh, I just, it could stop tomorrow. If they if the guy's running this, the white guys running the platforms actually want to do something about it. But they don't. And they don't want to fix it. Because, you know, clicks in clicks and hits, and clicks and hits. And that's all they care about. Because those are the guys that rise to the top in those types of industries are not Lovey Dovey, kind of artistic, gentle. You know, yoga, preaching love the sun kind of guys, their tech heads, that that's kind of their only kind of head function is that. So anything else is irrelevant. They don't care. It amazes me the kind of person who does go to the top. So like Elon Musk, like Steve Jobs, everyone sort of goes by they're just amazing. But you've talked to anyone who's worked with them or people on the inside site. They are so arrogant. They make you work really hard. They're incredibly rude to you. They're not very giving blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it's it's that psychopaths, you know that corporate psychopath Asterix I'm not calling anyone a corporate psychopath. But it seems stereotypically that a lot of these corporate psychopaths demand everything and give nothing. It's just I'm not sure it's creating a better place for everyone at all. No offense of the other folks at Twitter and all the the social media. I mean, it's it's it's really not as as easy as, as the idea, we will just turn it off, right? I mean, you can turn it off, but with a lot of unintended consequences. I mean, like, anyone who's tried to just edit a Word document and remove one word from your Word document and have it sort of come out or weird. That's, that's the challenge that they have. I mean, if you if you were to completely censor it, then you change the nature of what it is fundamentally. And then what do you have instead? Right. So I think that that finely tuned. Machine, if possible is is it's way hard to do and Facebook had the same problem when they actually began to try to do moderation. In language like other than English, they've got like two moderators for the whole world in some say, Chinese or something completely, ridiculously exaggerating there. So they'll only have a few moderators, they can only see so much stuff. But you know, the fact that you can still see the massacre, that Christchurch massacre online, they can't take it down, you can actually watch the video. It's still there. And yeah, someone could take it down, but they just don't. Really I didn't know that. Yeah. Isn't New Zealand? Site, I'm not sure what it's called. And that woman from New South Wales that they put up in that seat, apparently, she's posted on there as well. So we're not talking about nice people. Yeah, well, this this is this is me coming from the our own call, I wouldn't claim to be from a legal background. But I grew up in a household where my dad was a judge, and a magistrate and that the process, the legal process, or the process of I've only had two hours sleep in the last two days, that that, that process of seeing it being done correctly, or doing the right thing, it's not as it's not as straightforward as all that. So you know, it's it's, it's one thing, you were just what authoritarian and say, okay, none of this, and then I'm sorry, we have all this collateral damage. It's okay. We don't want any of this. So collateral damage is perfectly fine. So that there is a there is a challenge of creating a system where due process can happen. So like I've there is actually I don't know whether you're familiar with the the they've actually come up with a council that sits independently on Facebook. And they actually have the day like the justice of Facebook, as in what they say goes in terms of what's allowed and what's not allowed. And they are above the executive decisions on Facebook, or at least that's what they have gone on. They've said it would be until they stop paying them. Yeah, but I mean, things as simple as Joe not being you can't be anonymous on on these platforms, just taking their anonymity, I don't think it's against anyone's rights. But that Wouldn't that just be a simple thing to protect people? Well, there is there is a challenge of so without without the ability to speak anonymously. There is also there is also one one on area that you're taking away from your you're actually stopping those who have to be anonymous from having a voice. So it's one of those things where the there are anonymous trolls, and they're also sometimes anonymous. Whistleblowers, and that's that's really the challenge, right, the throttle one you total both. Is that is that worthwhile? I mean, I understand that it's arguable that, yeah, we don't need all the noise. We don't need all the angst. But at the same time, it's one of those things where you go like, I don't want any of this. I'm also simultaneously saying I'm not I'm not having any of this either. Yeah, but it surely has to you have to go for the one, the one that's causing the most damage and evil like these poor, mostly women, and the danger they feel and the vitriol that is spewed at them. It can't, it can't, it cannot not. We have to move forward into trying to work it out. Yeah, because it brings a bigger societal question in that, yes, the technology companies have increased responsibility than what they currently possessing. But also a sorry. And also, it's the users we need to educate and better our users. It's that whole thing of like technology says, Yes, we can do a thing, then the ethics ethicist will look well, should we do the thing? And then the lawyers come in saying, Well, is it legal to do the thing? And there can be massive timeline, time delays between those three elements? Yeah. So the whole concept of I'm going to do something really bizarre, but I'm going to livestream it, whether it's legal or illegal, or otherwise, it's like, some stuff, it shouldn't just be private, like, you know, whether it's I don't, you know, it's some stuff should be private, some stuff shouldn't be done. And I think that there's no company is going to take risks by the pure quantity of data that is dumped on these sites, there's no way that you're going to be able to moderate it in time. And it's, then once it's out there, people get copies of it, and then do like the you know, the massacre. They just keep reposting different sites. I think, I don't know the answer, but it's a question and there are certain questions that I don't believe are being asked loud enough or frequently enough. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Sorry, we need to we need to Um, we need to address the problems in our societies and stop blaming the tools. Yeah, but also social media is just a tool that is a reflection of the of the problems and the trauma and, and, you know, like, I've got this vision in my head, you know, we've got all these horrible, nasty people in the corner, who have got their knives out for us, and we're moving towards them, and therefore, we're becoming uglier. And we need to, we need to stop focusing on them and turn around and look at what do we want to create together, and they're not going to go away, we have to accept that they're not going to go away. But we need to start looking at it's like an asterix fight, you know, when they're all sort of rolling around and dogmatics is jumping around the outside, right? It's like the whole world standing in a circle around watching that fight. Instead of saying, wait a minute, well, they're gonna get on with it. Anyway, let's turn the other way. And let's go and create what we want to create. Let's look at Publix as beautiful Ben here. Yes. Because he's my favorite Publix. Yeah. geriatrics. They're all good statistics. That's not as popular. I'll be there forever. But also, when Elon Musk and the rich white guys. anyone says anything badly about them, then they're quick, pretty quick to sue. So yeah, it's not it's not about free speech. It's only free speech. They can say what they want to say. Yeah, but this is, you know, Jeff Bezos, and Elon is doing the and the whose penis is bigger than the other rocket race. Meanwhile, partons given away tons of cash getting people reading. She's investing in to vaccines and stuff. Now I'm not saying those other two gentlemen haven't invested. I don't know. But, you know, there's more talk about their rockets that there are about what Dolly Parton is doing, and others, you know, yeah. Well, I think didn't already win the race and then do the rest of it. I'm sorry for that one. That was terrible. But you know, I don't know. I don't know what you mean. But I I presume I know what you mean. I don't know what you mean. But I laugh just because it's obviously got something to do with her boobs. Ah, am I right? Some of these jokes work later on. Some of these will come back to haunt me in 10 years. Oh, my God. I'm a huge Dolly Parton fed. So beware. Okay, another story the Mona Lisa was attacked. A man dressed as an old woman through through cake out here in the Louvre. And it's obviously Leonardo da Vinci is one of his most famous works. And it was a climate protest. And the commentary of the people that were actually there if you guys ever been to see the Mona Lisa at the loop, I was supposed to ask somebody while they're waiting in the line. I thought the story was going to be about how you through cake and mist because it's so small. thing it is it's tiny, and people realize how small it is, is very lucky I Leonardo da Vinci has four surviving oil paintings in the world. Two of them are in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. And I was fortunate enough to travel there and I've seen them both. So when you go to see in the Louvre, it's behind Plexiglas. So in this instance, the cake hit the plexiglass and particularly whenever there's a row, so you don't get too close. And there's just tons of people in the Hermitage eager walk up and touch it like that. I was in the early 90s. I went there, but yet I didn't touch it. But you could have like, there was just there was no one else in the room. Madonna and child is one and there's another one. So though amazing pieces. And the history also is fantastic. But like I this gentleman dressed as an elderly woman in a wheelchair, I understand his protest. I'm not sure that his way of protest is really the best way. Definitely got attention but in this Yeah, well, yeah. But But are we just going on mental health issues stuff he goes, or are we saying yes, he has a point. What can we do about the environment? Yeah, but I suppose it's better than the guy a few weeks ago to set himself on fire outside the Supreme Court in the US so it was a climate change or modification. Another another story with my one of my favorite TV journalist Tucker Carlson. Now I believe you've called him a journalist. Do you guys know the Korean pop group BTS? Yeah. Yeah. You know, I think some some people don't i If you ever have an opportunity to actually watch them being interviewed, especially if they're talking about the issues that they care about. They're incredibly sweet group of guys and Kate Kpop is changing the world at the moment. It's really quite incredible. Anyway, Taka decided to share some opinions on on BTS after they basically they're in Washington to talk Around Asian inclusion and representation and obviously they're speaking up against discrimination because it's still going on. So it's widespread in the US. And they were meeting with Biden and basically take a goes, Yeah, we got so we got a Korean pop group to discuss anti Asian hate crimes in the United States. Okay, good job, guys. And then he said, White House invites youth icons, like BTS was helping degrade America, and it's working. So they have an army and it's actually in caps. So I'm presuming it's, that's their name their supporters, right? And they've gone nuts. And they said, Twitter lost its shit. With memes and fervent prayers for Army, but basically, what they're saying is, even if someone makes a light hearted joke against BTS, they get pummeled. And so it's going to be an unrelenting 24 by seven onslaught of pain, in short, rip to Tucker's mentions, and I don't think it can happen to a nicer guy. And that might be worth checking him out on Twitter and seeing what they're doing. Because I think it would be interesting. The BTS army known for going off, and sometimes it's just a minor thing, but they do go off. And so you can't Yeah, you can't say a bad thing. And again, this is getting like this is the extremity of fanning. Right. So we haven't yet we haven't with the Star Wars crew before head are going very negative against an African American actors. And now we've got these guys going super positive and supportive and going against someone who is negative. But again, it's the extremes. This is the opinions are great. And support is great. But it's the extremes that just takes the edge off and goes, Really now in this case, we're happy because Well, I'm happy because I'm not a huge Tucker Carlson fan that he's right up there with Sky News after dark, you know, worse. He's mad. I'm just so yeah, it's it's very interesting. It's very interesting. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Yeah, it's funny how Fox News is actually not a news channel. It's an entertainment channel, isn't it? Legally? Yeah. It's not news. It's actually not news that actually have to say the truth. Well, I think that's kind of universally across all the news channels in the US as well, unfortunately. Yeah. And I think that's no longer a requirement. Yeah. Yeah. And so it's a business. That's not news. It's how do we make money? And whatever we have to say to get it? We'll do it. Yes, sorry. You go. I often question with some of these people who say some of these extreme things both left and right, whether they actually believe what they say, and how much is scripted? I don't know. Yeah. Well, I heard I heard a podcast where someone was talking about having spoken to Steve Irwin. And I think the conversation went along the lines of Have you have you seen my Have you seen my show? And we reply with Unfortunately, yes, I have. And it was it was it was a basically an insight into the way Steve went about doing his stuff. He behaved like an idiot to get attention for a long time for the stuff he really cared about. And, and because of that, he was able to talk about the stuff he really cared about. So there's, there's a little bit of about that, because I think I always talk about the, you know, attention as the as the currency. Nowadays, you got to get if you want to get if you want to get something across, you have to start with attention. And I think, I think many of these people know how to do it, I think, of course, if they using it for the wrong things. But you know, it really is about that. So the fight really is for those people who are on the right side of things to try and get attention. I mean, I think it's very fine, fine tuned, sort of, you need to do some fine tuning, right. I mean, you can be like PETA, and I think go too far, with getting attention and people don't want to be close to you. But somewhere, somewhere, somewhere in the middle there is, is a sweet spot where the good guys need to know how to get people's thumbs to stop scrolling and they can catch them attention. Or we need to re educate our global society of, you know, stop, stop it, stop paying attention to it, stop giving them the what they want, you know, and to me, to me, it's like, you know, the things that I should be doing to get attention for the message that I want to share. I can't do him. I can't do that. Well, I don't want to do and it's, it's completely outside. It's completely out of my integrity. And I'm not getting the views the readership I'm not getting any of that. But I would rather not get it than change who I am to play a game that I don't agree with. So I know we just need enough of us to step up and say not a we got to change this because the attention economy sucks. But it's the access you want to get, you know, with with this particular audience, right? So it's like if I'm, if I'm, if I'm trying to get to if I'm trying to if I'm trying to get access to you, and I've got to stop you in a supermarket, how do I stop you in a supermarket? And right? I mean, that that really is, is the challenge. So, so. And the discussions been around for a long time as in like, you know, it since the early days has been the people who are doing it sort of on the right side of things. I mean, we've had public broadcasting for forever. And arguably, that's kind of the the fair, proper way to sort of communicate and talk about, you know, right minded stuff. But the market of ideas has has kind of given you the result of it, right. I mean, commercial, commercial, you know, monkey brain based advertising and stuff like that, that that seems to work, unfortunately, because we do bear a lot more resemblance to the monkeys then than otherwise. Yeah, Joe, isn't it also beholden on our, our reporters and our people at the television stations, to actually print the truth, tell the truth and not be beholden to the money as well, because in Australia, 70, Davidson of our media is owned by Murdoch. So everything people have read, is what he decides we read, unless you know where to look. And most people don't know where to look. And they're just too lazy. So they'll scroll through, they'll read the Herald Sun, which is you know, they walk to this train, they pick up their paper, off they go, and even the age, like the age was printing today, labor one the government, but you wouldn't know that one government, we wouldn't know that by reading the mainstream press. And they'll put a headline, labor pulls the plug on the East West tunnel, but in the in the body of the article was basically, the former Liberal Liberal government hadn't actually put his money aside, so they could build the tunnel. But the headline reads, that Labour's stuffed it up, the truth is liberal stuff. And it's like, every day, every day, you have to read through that. You have to and and people don't like my mom and brother just read whatever, and they try to take it to be the truth. And they always and they should they actually should come in as much as they shouldn't, they should be able to that they should be able to trust their sources? Well, it's one of those things where it's never been the obligation. You know, I think I think we've only had a few people who are kind of like the bear the the arms bearer of it, and they they speak of those higher values, but in terms of an obligation to do so. It's never absolutely been there. It's just like, sort of an expected thing. Right. So yeah, I mean, it's, it's also very hard to, to stand in the face of, you know, I think economic realities, as well as maybe career realities as well. Because when I was in the media, I was always trying to push boundaries and trying to, you know, like, like, like being on the edge. And I always was was pursuing speaking, speaking the truth and showing different opinions. One of the things that I think got me fired is I called, I called a blind woman and a whole lot, but I was I substantiated the whole thing and, and didn't get fired because of it, but I got fined for it. But the, because she was being announced, all right, she was she was yes, and lots of things that happen after I won't, I won't, I won't try to, is to just do one of those things, it's just not going to stop when I when I start talking about it. But the point is, you know, management and people who are in charge have certain momentum, so that momentum is in place, and things are happening like this, and, and some people are happy in their in their 40s and enjoying their retirement plan or dental and whatever it is, and they don't want to have an extra meeting on account of someone saying something that needs to have an extra meeting. So, you know, sometimes what it is, is it's different different kinds of organizations have been set up that way. So some people, there's some organizations where they welcome the struggle, and under the the the, the pursuit of the story, you know, speaking to lawyers and all that, and that's, that excites them. But at the same time, I think there are lots of organizations where they're not excited by that at all. And they and they are much more, you know, they're just trying to get that commercial product out the window. And so it's, it's a different, it's a different thing. And I'm sure you see out the door and set out the window. The other big issue around media is of course, making money, right. And that's the thing that's changed significantly in the last decade. So since social media came on board, and digital technology, people aren't paying for media. So one of my suggestions if you want to fight for the environment, You pay for the media that covers the environment, because not many of them do. So pay a subscription, put your cash into the media that you trust. And we don't do that I subscribe to probably six or seven media bases now. So because because I need to put my money where my mouth is, right? And if, if they're not struggling to make money, they can operate on a different level. And so if they, if they, you know, Fox, all Murdoch's empires, it's all about making money. It doesn't matter what they do, and it's about getting eyeballs and but all media industries have suffered in the last sort of decade. Because how they made money isn't guaranteed anymore. So that's another big part of why the media has changed and become such a destructive force. Because, you know, Murdoch's dominant in some countries like America, England and Australia, but he's not dominant all over the world. And we've got this problem all over the world right. Now, anyway, moving on. An avatar was raped on metters Metaverse platform. And so another toxic content place. It's a really strange one. So basically, when you go into the metaverse, you have a setting where you keep all ever avatars, at least four feet away from you. And because this lady was doing some research, she turned her off. And it's quite a disgusting story that she was taken into a party into a room and was raped and there were all these other avatars hanging around drinking alcohol in the in the metaverse, and she found it a very confronting experience. So it just because she wasn't physically in the room, it didn't mean that that didn't have an impact on her. So just another place where women aren't safe. Did you guys have a look at that one? I read it. I was listening to researcher on ABC couple weeks ago. And I think it was YouTube. Yes, it must have been YouTube. So they did a study with that. I think they set up a few accounts, absolutely pristine accounts, from absolutely pristine. Like, no, there was no algorithms nothing. And within a few clicks, every single one of those male accounts went down into misogyny and in sell stuff, and all they did was click on the first one. Click on the first one click on the first one. And they were into misogyny and in Salah. Yeah. So it's so yeah, they set up a YouTube account from like, must have been like a person with no, no background on online. No, nothing. Like nothing at all. Does that make sense? Am I explaining it correctly? Yeah. So I think I think you're just talking about getting a just a total blank account of brand new account and then just comes down to you and seeing what YouTube suggests. Right? Yeah. And that what YouTube's a ditch suggested very shortly, was misogyny, Insell, raping and just hating women? And I think it was like four, there was a number of accounts male, young, white, I don't know, I don't even think she'd they said what color the guy was just a boy's name of some description. And all them very short, quickly move down into that. And that's Joe, you wouldn't that's an algorithm thing, isn't it? Yeah. Well, the thing is, one one was I can't I can't verify. And two is I don't know whether there's any desire to any bias to try and prove that as the situation. But I can't imagine that what happens is if you fall into, if you fall into a particular trend, if you've chosen, if you've chosen a profile that is a 25 year old, your name is what a very white sounding name, and you're from southern part of town, the algorithm tries to see what else is sort of being watched by the same sort of people, and it tries to suggest a few things for you, and it will have a list of things. And that's even more alarming. But what it is, is it's trying to find out what it is that it is that you like so it isn't it. That's how that's how YouTube finds out who you are, right? So they're gonna, they're gonna grab four or five different choices. And the thing about this is that if I'm going to just say I'm going to just choose choice one that isn't choosing that is that is that is a default behavior that you're that you're saying, I'm going to I'm going to test this algorithm with, right? Because what it actually does is like I mean, like, like, like when you start a new Netflix account, it's gonna ask you a few things about what you want. But if you just say I'm just gonna click the top, the top the top, the top the top, then whatever data I've given them, which is my name, gender and age may bias what is the first result on that one? So I I worry about tests like this to say that it proves therefore that this is the way this thing works? Because it's a badly it's a badly designed test. It was it was actually done through the universe, one of the universities here yet, but if I'm saying that it's always gonna be the first one, I'm going to just select the first one within the first few clicks. I'm gonna get that. That isn't. That isn't a choice. That is Taking it because what it is, is it's testing an algorithm that actually assesses choice. And if you don't add choice to it, and all you do is do is you're going to go with a default, then it's going to end the default takes men into the places. And boys. That's, that's, that's the default. Well, the funny thing is I've, I've started and didn't why they asked me why I've done this, but I've started up YouTube accounts and got into them and just to try stuff as well, I haven't had the same experience. So it's quite, it's quite interesting for me. And I need to I need to do a little bit more research to understand the the, the, the, what exactly they did, but you're sitting in Singapore, so you're gonna have access to different content anyway, as soon as we move to Thailand, it was quite mind blowing what what our boys had access to that they didn't have access to in Singapore. We had some pretty interesting conversations about that. Yeah, yeah. I think it's scary. This whole Metaverse thing. What I think scary is that, in reading that article talking about some of these platforms, the default Metaverse platform that Google had set up, or was it face Facebook and set up, they put in the default of four feet as a distance as a default, because they were concerned from the very beginning, that, that these of the harassment that could take place. And what's happening with our digitization is we don't have to look at our victims in the eye. We don't sort of have to take responsibility, we can just do whatever we want. And the fact that people want to do this on such a scale and hide from the consequences is scary. Like it is super scary. You know, so I just, I don't understand, like I feel for this person who was raped on the metaverse, but some of the choices that they made. I don't understand. I don't I definitely don't understand the guys who are like, what, why would you do that? Like I don't? Yeah, it's just, again, it's crazy. And this is, what I see is one of the great failings of our modern society is that we've had a massive shift from the me to the Wii. Sorry, sorry, from the Wii to the me. So we've gone it used to be all about how can we all care for each other, make sure everyone's okay. And now it's like one of those I get what I want. I really don't care about anyone else. And so this Metaverse is just I can rape, pillage, plunder, do whatever. And there's no consequences. So I don't care. So it's just crazy. Yeah. Oh, great. But that's what happens in the real world as well. Worry correct and correct. And that's it. And it's like, you know, we're seeing this with the, you know, the Elon Musk's of the world, like, I can do whatever I want, you know, I don't you know, I don't care. I've got the money. And even, you know, managers, middle managers, just, you know, people in nightclubs, so I want to do this. I'm gonna do it. I don't care. Yeah, right. Yeah. Toilet paper hoarding by Jesus, the toilet paper hoarding thing, did my head in and still continues to just, like, seriously, it's like, one of the symptoms of the disease of COVID was not diarrhea. And yet people put toilet paper like there was no tomorrow. It's like, I don't get it. I mean, diarrhea is a symptom, you'll be pleased to know. So is it maybe? Yeah, maybe we should fact check on that one. Yeah. Cheryl, Cheryl, Sam Sandberg is stepping down and CEO of Facebook and metta. So she's been there for 14 years. And so the media coverage around this is really, really interesting, because on one level, it's like honoring the job that she's done in her heritage with cleaning, and all that sort of stuff. And on the other side, there's a lot of angry media, about the role of Facebook and meta and societal breakdown. So I don't mind her being hauled over the coals for that as long as Mark also and the other leadership for the leadership team get called over the coals for it as well. Have you guys been just just a quick PR tip in my early years of learning how to be a pack PR person, if you want to understand media bias, it's all in the photography. So I've seen some photography where she looks old and haggard, and I've seen other photography where she looks beautiful. And so basically, if the photography is unflattering, it is very, very clear bias from the media institution that they don't support that person. So I think it's a good thing to know if you didn't already. Anyway, what do you guys think? Well, can I firstly say, since cookie was an egg, it's only women that ever suffer the consequences of bad behavior. I mean, of course, that is gross generalization, but generally speaking, a woman we'll suffer the consequences of a bad man behavior and man's bad behavior. And that's it. So she will be thrown under the bus, like Golden Girls before her and the blokes will go suit. We fixed it. And off they go. Yep, it's happening like in Australian politics recently, it's been astronomical, the amount of women that are being thrown under the bus. Anyway, that's just my biased opinion. I think what happens is we tend to, we tend to see certain things more clearly than we, then we do others, right. I mean, I know, I know, many men have been thrown on the buses, but it doesn't make a headline, it doesn't, it's not something that you're gonna pay much attention to, as well. And I think in terms of having done being seen as a reason for a lot of success in Facebook, she gets the credit for that as well. So I really think it's, it's been quite a fair run for it. And I think, you know, I always, always had the problem with cherry picking which side of the coin we want to be due to live on, right? So I have, I have friends who want full equality. But let's be nicer to women. And I hear like, that kind of doesn't sound the same thing sounds like the same thing to me. Because it means that you should also take whatever stuff comes along with that, I mean, that there's impolite behavior done towards men. Why is it particularly much worse against women? While we might say like, well, it's a if you if you're subscribed to the thing that we shouldn't be as roughly women, then you're like, well hang on, then we're going to treat them differently, are we? Can I pull you up on that? I'm hoping you're not thinking this. But it's like saying, there's two houses, one's on fire, but you got to treat both equally. The problem with women is men are punching down. And, and, and when men realize that they're punching down, then things might change, because nothing's gonna change until the men step up. And if blokes don't realize there's a problem, it's never going to change. Never. And so you can't punch down yet. It's like saying Black Lives Matters, yes, but all lives matter. It's like, yes, all lives matter. But at the moment, the black people in the houses, they're on fire. And at the moment, we can't look at these people, because we need to look after these people. And an equal doesn't, it's not cake. If I get if I get more equality doesn't mean you get less equality. And I think people if people can stop thinking of the quality as cake and things being taken away from them. And I also think a big problem is a lot of worlds. I don't know, maybe this is the extreme. I reckon a lot of blokes are a bit scared that what will happen if women do get equality, because maybe they'll start suffering the consequences of being treated in it unequally, and, and that's the thing. People don't want to give up. They're comfortable. These plate people in power, these men in power, they're comfortable, they're getting everything they need, and they don't want to give any of it up. And you can't punch down. Well, I'm the reason I speak from a different perspective is I came from an organization where all my bosses were women and their bosses were women. So we had we had a hierarchy of of women as well. And I found there was some there's some aspects of it. I don't think it's as simple as just saying that, you know, it's not I think they all lives matter comparison. Yeah, it can, it can, it can and might not work at the same time. Because I think I think we sometimes choose what's convenient for ourselves at the right time, because, and I speak as someone who is the the father of a child in the wheelchair, right? I mean, handicap, as someone in that situation with those, you know, challenges as well as privileges, I'll admit to picking and choosing sometimes what's convenient and best for us, when it comes to, you know, getting parking or trying to get a priority at a certain place, or whatever it is. There's a lot more nuance to it, I think, than just saying that. It's the way it's always been. I mean, I really think so in terms of being thrown under the bus. I really, it's hard for people to even think about the last time you hear about if you don't if you think about the narrative, right? I mean, there's so many male bosses that have done terrible things or done bad things have been thrown out or whatever it is, and they've been thrown under the bus, whatever. And there's no additional narrative to it in the sense that you're like, Well, he was incompetent. Oh, yeah. Okay. You don't have like, well, he was he was he was torn on the bus because he was a man. I will say that I've been in a situation where, as well where we've had sexual harassment, in my opinion, in the opposite direction, you know, I've been I've been there and I go, that and it's the It troubles me about this, this idea that that we're trying to just I think I think I think equality is something that is that that is something that can be achieved. And I do want to play it as equal. And I just I just want to go like no don't, don't make don't make someone have to tie their, their arm behind the back just so that you go like, well, it wasn't equal before. So now we're going to make it unequal in their favor. I you know that it just it just just just it's a subtle flavor. You know, you know, I love all you guys and girls and everybody. Meritocracy, and like you in that workplace with those women, that's not a quality either, because it's not, that's not a fair representation of society. And there's a Swedish study that came out, once you get rid of the less, once you start bringing the women into corporate positions and things kind of, then you actually get rid of the mediocre men and things do start to equalize. And then the the male and female balances out each other. And the thing with the male boss is, traditionally they were all male bosses, though. So you know, we've, we've lived in this patriarchal society for all these time. And now things are changing. But you know, it's a false narrative to say that, it's like, the men a big ask permission to give us some equality, it's like, it's not yours to give. You've, you've had it all this time, it's time we all kind of, you know, we need it we need the world needs, balance, and the only way we can and like the new parliament here, we've got Muslim lady, we've got five Indigenous women, we've got our first female, and it's like an Emirates going on with it not experienced, blah, blah, blah. Well, all we had before was a whole bunch of white blokes that came through private schools in Sydney and Melbourne, that went and got an economics degree that went into the parliament house. And that's their experience. That's all they had to offer the community. And now we've got this diverse range of people, these rainbow of people in a room and they can chat about stuff. Anyway, I talk too much. So I mean, none of those great, so much. There's so much data, you know, Joe, on equality, and what, what gets confused is the conversation around equality is what is confused, right? So, you know, like, I think, if you read a book, like the Asian beauty myth, which is obviously based on the original book, The Beauty myth, and how Asian women are treated by society, women are treated differently in the media, especially women in powerful positions. And Sheryl Sandberg is certainly one of them. And it's, it's about that, and we're going to talk about it at the end, that Amber Heard sort of the way she's been treated, right. But there is a difference. And it's not just men doing the wrong thing. It's also women as well. Yeah, you know, absolutely. But let's let's let's tick through because LMS comm is obviously, up in the media, again, what a surprise, because he told everyone either return to the office or leave the company. But one of the probably the stories that I've been tracking for, you know, the last few weeks, and I'm sure you guys are as well is obviously the shootings in America, obviously following the one in Texas, but a couple of pieces to read. America, how long will you sacrifice your children on the altar of gun worship? That's in The Guardian, and another one hour narrative of mass shootings is killing us. And basically, this to me is one of the really important pieces, right? So within days of mass shootings, another mass shooting occurs because they are inspired by the mass shooting, to shoot to go and they want to the second thing is I love the notoriety that I want to be on the fringes, I want to be in the in the center. But the third thing is when the what was it called the Bastille Day attacks in nice in 2016. And if you remember that that was the truck, I think, what what the French did is they refused to reprint anything from the Islamic State, or the name of the murderer. And we saw Jacinda don't do the same in New Zealand, right? So basically, the idea is you take the fame and notoriety out of the opportunity, there's a good chance you're gonna you're going to reduce the occurrence. So as a minimum in America, they obviously don't want to get rid of their guns. I mean, 80% of the people do, but as a minimum, some media consensus on how to approach it. I think that's just a bit of common sense when she goes great. Yeah, very common. Well, I think what they should do and just being a bit ridiculous is, every time we feature anything to do with the shooter, they have to put on one of these Snapchat filters that Warwick introduced us to. And there is a sense of being really ridiculous, right? I think, if you can I, when I was tasked to be part of the smoking cessation committee in Singapore, where We already had such low smoking rates, I was thinking, how can you make this better? I was trying to push the idea of the campaign that says, you know, do you want to be an idiot? I mean, here's how to be an idiot and do the whole do the whole thing and build the idea that smoking is smoking is idiotic. They didn't go for that. But if you can, if you can, I think if you can, if you can set it up, so that the reaction and the coverage and everything is very predictable, you know what's going to happen, so that when you think that if I'm going to be involved in in some kind of mass shooting, or whatever it is, I am definitely going to show up on TV in a really bizarre way. Not in a way that I want to deal with it. I think that can really I think it can help Yeah, well, they had a remote in Australia, they had that that blokes talking about men with small Willies, and yes, feeding a Americans weed to guns. It's really interesting. Justin Trudeau has just put forward the proposal to stop handgun sales in Canada. And which I think it's fantastic. And so often people say to Americans just do an Australian to a gun buyback that couldn't afford it like they could not afford a lot of people forget that we added I think was an extra 2% income tax to pay for our gun buyback here. It it's, it is such a different mindset around guns. And the comment was made back with Sandy Hook when it's like when they're willing to sacrifice the kids versus their guns, you will never win this. And again, it's there's this whole political process. Again, they're the Senate or the Congress, lover, these old white men who get paid very well. By Yeah, right. Manufacturers. Yep, yeah. And they go this in our hopes and prayers and all we need to make sure backdoors are unlocked, or they need teachers to have guns. They can, you know, have these banned books, but they should have guns. And I have some friends in the US who are really smart, like really smart. And they firmly believe that what we need is more guns. And I don't understand why you need bullet like I'm a proof. I'm a proof bullets. Bullets and military weaponry. I don't get it. Don't get me wrong. I used to take my shotgun to school. Every Wednesday. I took my gun to school. We had trap shooting. I went every Wednesday we'd go we do trap shooting. It kept the gun in the headmistresses office. So I like guns. I've been to gun ranges, I've shot guns. But there are certain weapons that no human needs. Switzerland has a really high gun ownership rate. And the one of the lowest rates of death by gun because the reason I have it is most people have they have conscription. So they learn how to use their guns properly, and they're very safe about them. There's everywhere in the world. One of the articles I read is death by gun or suicide by gun is massively decreasing everywhere except the US and that's because access to guns is decreasing. For areas where they were they've banned guns, they found suicide because the gun lobby will often say if they don't use a gun, they'll use something else. And the truth is they don't. And also bullets do so much damage that Oh yeah. It's just people don't understand how much damage they really do. So I I I am at a loss as to what America could do. You'll have certain states like California is doing some buyback kind of stuff happening right now. But whenever there is an incident like this gun sales massively increases, because they think well where the guns are gonna get taken off. So let's go and buy something. So why would an industry because it's an industry try and clamp down on gun sales to prevent this kind of incident because this kind of incident helps their gun sales. So it's, I just I can't get my head around it and they're the only country in the world that does it. It's crazy. I have my my big take on it is it all all ties in with the abortion bans and the banning of the book so they're banning books in the bedding? In Texas. They're banning, you know, women get wanting as soon as Roe was Roe v Wade gone. Then there's the $10,000 bounty on anyone that helps a woman get an abortion and even from conception even if it you Dad rapes you, whatever, you can't have an abortion. And then so they can ban that they can't ban assault rifles. But then when the assault rifles come out with the 18 year olds, they said Well, it's because there's no men in the homes. So on one hand, they're saying this and we can't ban abortions. But on the other hand, we you have to have this baby, but when you have this baby, there's no childcare or there's no there's no nothing for this out, and we're going to take the books away. But when this child gets shot by this, this kid over here, who's 18 It's your fault, because this child didn't have a dad. And it's like, you guys are insane. I was reading. Another another thought is, and this is what I've been thinking about a lot lately is you got to think what is it? What is it? There is a there is something and when you read that the there's the states with the highest perinatal death rates, what do you call it, and women dying are these states with the with the with the anti abortion, and they know these women, these mostly black women? Like us, I think this is some crazy, like, per 1000. There's a crazy man and women die in childbirth in these really poor States every year. They know these women are going to die in childbirth. And they know it's going to happen, and they're still passing these abortion laws. And they know that and there's another two things. You can't buy two boxes as Sudafed, because you could go home make meth meth, and you you know, Kinder Surprise, those chocolate eggs. This still banned in America, chocolate eggs are banned in America, but not assault robbers. And the other thing, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms as listening to an article today, in 2005. So it basically got Oh, Mr. Bush, he came in and he he, he passed a law that you can't sue gun companies, so they didn't have to do anything. And then of course, the assault rifle in 2004, the ban slid under his watch as well. So even if they just bought it, people could start suing the gun companies, the gun companies would stop advertising kids. And add to that the CDC has a ban on doing any research about gun deaths. So there's no facts to deal with. So the universities have to do it. I think Robin Williams did a great line. He was talking about abortions and guns. And they said it's a real, it's a real fisherman analogy. You can't get him when they're small. Wait till they get bigger. You know, it's just like, it's crazy. It's crazy. And they're thinking about that little girl putting the blood on her face of her dead friend shot with an AR 15 which means she would have been blown to smithereens this little girl grabs a blood puts it on her face to pretend she's dead. So the guy won't shoot her. What? Bank shooter drills for kids? Like, yeah, I don't know, if you've seen this, there's a video going around where they go into a factory. And they've got a bunch of people, men standing around, and they're like, Okay, we're now going to do a shooter drill. And the guy's like, what, and they get this young kid coming in and he's our expert has done the the shooter drills, they get a young kid coming in, instruct them how to do an active shooter drill, and it just freaks out the adults rightly so. And yet, you know, kids do it inside. Yeah. And as Dave suggested, we go to America many times, I'm like, I just don't want to bring our boys up, you know, country. Texas for 12 months. And you know, we talked about guns a lot. And you know, my boss said, I've got one just bent down, gotta have a handbag brings in a pistol freaked me out. And then when I left people saying, Oh, you're gonna come back and live here. And I said, got a chance. And they were they were shocked. absolutely shocked. And that's why I said one reason. You've got guns, you know, everyday to drive by shooting that never gets reported because it's so common real bullet holes in cop cars, like real bullet holes. It's like, that's normal. And just not for me. Was there a story today that someone got shattered in school somewhere, and they went to the hospital. And there was another mass shooting at the hospital. And then they went to the funeral, maybe it was just like a thing, because there was a school and a hospital and a funeral in like the space of two days. And I don't know if it's real person, or they just said you could go in America, go to school, get shot, go to a hospital, there's a shooting. And then you go to the funeral for the people from the school and you get the shot again. It's ridiculous. Just waiting for you to apply and social die. But yeah, that's it. And then you get a massive bill for all the hospital coverage and your stuff. Yeah. All right. So moving on to COVID. So we don't really talk about COVID a lot anymore, like we used to when we first started this but there's an article in The Atlantic cold you're going to get COVID again, and again and again. And basically, it's you know, we're gonna get it multiple times in our life and they sort of talking about it potentially being just like the fifth cold causing Coronavirus or maybe not. So basically, it's capable of tangling into just about every tissue in the body. I don't know if you guys have done. A lot of people are talking about people in their lives who have died of heart attacks recently because I've been noticing Yeah, heaps, heaps and heaps, so many people. And I and about about 5051 52 They just started to have a heart attack die. Yeah. So when we went to Singapore, recently, I went I made Steve go and see his heart doctor, just to make sure that you know, there was no impact because he got pericarditis a few years back, but we don't know what's coming. You know, the saying, you know, every time it'd be could become less dangerous, but less dangerous could still be terrible. So I've been following some Twitter threads around COVID I think I think people are getting really relaxed. I mean, I've heard people arguing, saying, Yeah, but the numbers, but the numbers are going down. And the reason the numbers are going down is because no one's reporting it anymore, because, you know, nobody wants to report it anymore. And then there's another piece in The New York Times that older people during the Omicron Vironment variant, significantly more people died than during the Delta variant. So, you know, Mumbai has just reported a new surge of cases. And of course, we saw a lot of our friends who were very, very happy in Shanghai, they were finally released from quarantine after basically 50 days or something. But one article, I want to recommend everyone reads it's called the misunderstood and misrepresented zero COVID policy in China. It was published in December 21. It's a really, really fascinating pace. But I encourage you to have a look at it, because I think it's will will we look back and go, maybe China was right. In completely overwhelmed. Oh, we had 50 deaths in Australia here yesterday, right. And so, back when we started, if we had two or three deaths, it was like, Oh, my God, you know, and now we're just like, oh, everyone's got the backs. It's so good. And it's so not, it's so not, and our hospitals are overwhelmed. And we say our look at our nursing staff, they're heroes. Yeah, round of applause, not gonna pay you anything else. But yeah, you're a hero, like you got it. It's just crazy. And so because we don't care anymore, it spreads like no tomorrow, and people go, Oh, it's only mild, except for the ones that kills. And in the long COVID, and the impact, it's just insane. But it was it was an economic decision. I have no doubt there was like, Oh, the economy can't stand it anymore. We're not gonna make money. And it's just, it's the money. It's all about the money. Do you not also the compliance, the people were just not complying anymore. So they're just they just couldn't do it anymore, as well. But at the moment, particularly Melbourne, people were sick of it. And so they're just like, I'm not doing this anymore. And then we have a lot of protesting and stuff. And this is the me versus the way because it's like, I don't want to but if I don't do this, I'm gonna kill RT barrel. And yeah, and you've got this whole anti Dan Andrews, who was who I think did a great job for COVID for us. And yeah, is there any country that politicized it seem to stuff at right up, versus going this is a a national health crisis? Let's look after our people. We don't care who they vote for. We want all of them to stay alive. But yeah, the politicization of it just got insane and crazy. And I just think we've made so many mistakes, because our focus was in the wrong area versus how do we keep people alive? Yeah, so one of the one of the benefits of being in Asia is we is at the core of culture here. So everybody did the right thing, you know, in Singapore just only recently came out of lockdown, right? Not locked down. I mean, it's been softening for a period of time. But you know, that that sense of we all do the same thing for as long as it takes, as a community is still very, very strong in Asian societies. And it's something I really admire around around Asian culture. And, you know, in poor places, you know, slums, it's impossible for those people to be isolated. Right. But um, yeah, but I think, you know, we still wear masks here in Thailand. That's what you just do until they call it an endemic, which apparently is going to be happening in July. Everyone's still operating by the rules we do ATK tests before we go into public gatherings, you know, people do what they need to do. But the western approach, it's just been, it's actually quite mind boggling sitting in, in an Asian approach, watching the western approach, especially the politicization which was never, never gonna never made any sense. The challenges, I think, always about the amount of choice you have prescribed in your life, right? I mean, the thing about right now the ethical situation, right, it is actually getting to a point where ethically they can say, you know, what, we're giving up on restrictions, because you all have had enough of a chance. The people who are most at risk right now people who have not been vaccinated who refuse to get vaccinated. And so the other ones and the problem with Omicron right now as well is that it's it's it's more contagious because you can you because you know, you can get it more. I mean, it's easier to catch. So not only is it easier for you to carry it around that the kids can get it to as well. So that's, that's, that's that's combination of things all happening at once so it's going to find the dry wood a lot easier. You know, you might not be the one gets sick, but you're gonna carry it to somebody else who will. And the thing is they've also been given enough of an opportunity they feel for everyone to get vaccinated and at least to bring yourself within the boundaries of math, they're going to be those people who, who are still susceptible. And that's, that's whether or not you have the vaccine. But, you know, the numbers are what they are, you know, if you if you look at the numbers of people who are who are who are with severe disease and dying, it's always going to be much higher and in the unvaccinated numbers of unvaccinated population. And that's something that that, unfortunately, it's something that they allowed. They gave, they gave, they give too much of a choice. I mean, I think I think the West is a victim of its own addiction to choice, right, this is something that you get to do it, and I get to protest and be unhappy about it. And that's your right. Okay, cool. I have gotten to thank you very much, you know, yeah. Yeah, it's not good for the future. We've got the flu here as well. Joe, have you got it in Singapore? Yeah, the flu. I mean, it's, it's, again, there's a flu jab. You can and again, it's not as widely, you know, taken up as well that you can take a vaccine for the flu, but it's not taken as seriously. And yeah, given given the way things are moving right now, the flu is becoming, or at least the numbers. Evening out right now we are fully vaccinated and boosted in Omicron is getting closer to how dangerous the flu is to you as well, if you're an older person, so please, terrible. Yeah, like, have you seen the graphs work about the flu in Australia? Like it's going vertical? Yeah. And a few of my friends have had it in the last about three weeks. They said it's just horrible. Just quickly, one thing on a Coronavirus is people keep forgetting it's a global disease and Africa is still way under vaccinated. So consequently, we're going to get continual, different versions of it. And now that we travel so frequently, and so quickly, that will continue to spread. So we never learned this is the thing. It's like, we do this at the very beginning. Yeah, you know, our prime minister said, I will stop making that vaccine. We don't need it anymore. It's like, churn that sucker out and send it overseas like, yeah, it's just, it's just we never learned. Yeah, we are a ridiculous species. I'm going to just quickly move. So cost of living crisis, one in four people are struggling poll shows. So you know, six, intense 6% in Turkey expect their standard of living to fall. That's to fits in Great Britain and France. 79% people across 11 countries expects the cost of food shopping to increase, which we're all seeing, right. You know, there's the people at the bottom of society, who you know, have 10 pounds or $10, to go and shop for their family. This is this is it's such a, it's such as you know, he's one idea, right? We have three categories. When you go shopping, and you get it based on your tax ID, category one, Category Two, category three, you have an identity card or a code or whatever, the people at the bottom of society who can't afford inflation, why don't they for essential items, right? They pay a certain cost, so that they can afford to feed their family, and then two and three, that the the middle class and then the super wealthy, they pay the higher cost. And they cover that that inflationary cost for the people who were just trying to feed their families. You know, we just got to come up with solutions like that. Because x civilian is, well, there's obviously that but you know, like universal income, your income is the future of what we really need to seriously look at. And it's been I can't remember it was an area in Norway or Denmark who trialed it, and it worked well, and then for some reason, they stopped it. But yeah, it really is. We look at things like Star Trek and just go I you know, a place where everyone works really well. And part of that is like they gate got rid of money. Because money is is a way and I've had some business people say you know, money is the scorecard. You know, money doesn't mean anything. It's the scorecard, you count who wins and who loses. It's just like, well, that's not enough. I don't want to measure success based on dollars. Like I want it to be around how my health and the lifestyle that I have the people that I took the time to spend with these people. So if we can do something like universal income, if we can completely flip our taxation system, surely there's got to be a way that we can look after the people and this is what we seem to have lost in terms of looking after people looking after those who don't always, for whatever reason have the ability or the opportunity to look after themselves. It doesn't mean they can't add value to our crew. immunity. It's just there's got to be ways that we can look at to be able to do this. Something the chat that like, you know, like, I remember having this conversation with this lady in America, and she was criticizing single moms and I was sort of sitting there listening to her. And I'm like, you know, I'm listening to you criticizing single mums. But when are you going to criticize the people who actually caused the economic breakdown in the first place, which are the multimillionaire bankers? Like, why don't you? Why don't you Why don't you feel that hatred and anger towards them versus dads that left? What but but not even? Not even? We give the bailout funds to the bankers and call it stimulus. But we can't give people to the give money to the single moms or single dads or whomever? Or welfare recipients because it's like, oh, they don't know how to spend their money properly. But yeah, and they're taking advantage of this. As a bonus, like Christ said, I could ask you to have a rethink about something like, Yes, please. I didn't think we were ever that society. You think we were? No, no, I correct. I don't think we have always why? Well, like I am speaking. For Joe, in this instance, as from what my experience Asian, it's always about the community. So the grandparents would leave and everyone would look after each other. But us Anglos and English were that's never been the case. Poor people have always been, you know, the, you know, even the chimney sweeps dying up in, in Victorian times, and the kids being buried in, you know, Catholic Church. We've never caught people. You bet we've never been we've never been those people. We think are we used to be we never weren't. We need to move into being that can community where we actually look. And the lifestyle that we've lived, is what's putting the world on? Yeah. On the back of the cliff. Right. And it always has been, like, the the Empire has always it's always been on the back of the less people. We would never word this benevolent. We never were. And yeah, and I'm fully aware of that. Sorry if I came across that way, but yeah, no, no, no, no, it's more of a thought. I think it was the 60s when families in the West sort of really started to physically separate. Whereas before that there was a lot more of that sort of community. Not just in wet westerns. Yeah, everyone left when they're 18. They will move away. They all got married, had their kids and moved away, like, you know, you think about postwar Australia. And our grandfather. I'm gonna call you Hetty, Andrea, he went off to Queensland to to cut down sugarcane. They didn't have anyone around them. Everyone, everyone, it was just this nuclear family all the time, all the way. And kids got out when they were 18. There was no, there was nothing here. And poor people. I remember the awful way they used to speak about indigenous people when we were kids. And we're just not it's just how it was. And any indigenous person on telly, which is always a drunk. And so now you see all these amazing indigenous people around and First Nations. And it's like, Oh, my God, we've been fed this lie all this time. And they knew they knew what they were doing. And it's just ashamed of it. I'm ashamed of. I'm ashamed. Anyway. All right. So the global economy is obviously in a bit of a state of crisis. I was just saying that. There was a an article I didn't get to share with you guys. But there's a warning as new crypto price cash, is expected to hit Bitcoin Aetherium BNB, XRP Solana and Madonna. And then Jamie Dimon who's the CEO of JP Morgan, who's in the media a lot at the moment, he said, they are bracing for an economic hurricane. So I just want to say, Joe, how's it going at your end? Well, I trade and try to make money in whatever direction it's going. So I'm not I'm not picking up equities and stuff like that. I it's not quite safe to go into that space right now. So I spoke I spoke to someone who was much more active in the equities market, or usually more more, more active there. The market hasn't recovered or pushed back enough to confirm that it's back on the way up. And there's a lot of stuff that actually isn't going well for it right now in terms of what to support the market because the the economic policies right now, for instance, has been it's changed quite a bit. You know, the Fed has changed the policy so that it's now less supportive of the of making money freely available. And that's always going to have a negative impact on prices and stuff like that. It's not so much support because it's not so much cash rushing into my stuff. There's also the policy now is also trying to prevent too much consumption in the broader economy because of inflation and and all the broader consumption is what helps companies recover and help us I guess share prices have a bit more buoyancy as well. So the the markets encountering quite a lot of headwind, the hurricane, maybe not just yet. But people are struggling alone to find to find a good position this this, there's still people feeling on both sides of it. I mean, I saw one interview with a, with an older investor who said that he he's, he's, he's getting ready for the, for the worst bear market of his lifetime. And it's a matter of, actually, in the end, it's all about the, it's all about price action, it really is about price action, right? All the news can can can be presented, all of it can be there. And you can say it's good news or bad news. Ultimately, what happens is where the price goes, if the price falls below a certain level, people automatically want to try to protect their wealth and protect whatever they have, they're going to release the sale. And then once that happens, it's going to drop down. And if there's not enough, if there's not enough fun for people who think that it's good value and want to buy it up, then it's just going to fall through. So the news isn't what drives necessarily where the market goes price action is supported by the news that the markets always looking for its excuse to do the next thing it wants to do. So which is why sometimes you'll see good news and the price going down and you'll see bad news and the price going up. It's not really about the news, there's very little to do with the fundamentals being in place for something to go up in value, there has to be a lot more around it. In the end, it's the management of risk. And right now, there is the ones who are going in and buying right now. It's currently cheap, but they're doing it at a risk that they must be prepared to to take evasive action if if it's required very suddenly. Can I ask a question, Joe? Because fundamentally, the market has, well, it does have an effect. But generally speaking, most people, it has no effect on really, it's not part of their day. But it's kind of like this thing that's presented as a thing. So it but it just seems to be it's like a gambling thing for rich people or people up here, this small group. And there's a lot of focus on it, but it actually is it is it? Is it as important as it's made out to be? Or is it just a game? It is a game with real world consequences, right? So if you think about it, the markets doing well. And let's say only 5% of the population is suddenly becoming a lot wealthier. That usually translates into into consumption, right? So I'm gonna I'm gonna go out and spend money on this and spend money on that. And that becomes this. It's a knock on effect, right? So it happens in here in Singapore as well, we see the same thing happening with car sales, every time the market does really well, car sales go up, as you can tell, it's going up because the COA goes up as well, because there's a demand for cars. So there is a knock on effect in terms of consumption. And there is also the overall thing about confidence, right? Because if if, if the stock market is riding high, you might walk into an Apple Store and feel a bit more confident about buying that Apple Watch. Even if you're not involved with the market directly. You feel more confident as a consumer, right? But if I hear that there's a crash happening around me and I go like I want that I want I really want that phone. But there's a crash, you might be hesitant to spend that money. And that's what's happening right now with the market. There's a lot more planned austerity sort of coming up, right, people are holding back on large purchases, they're being a bit more careful. Unfortunately, for business, not enough people are doing that. But it is if everyone was being prudent right now, we'd have a massive recession. But we're not we're still responding to credit card promotions. Every time Amazon sends you some sort of a link you go Yay. I just found it really it's such a bizarre it's such a bizarre way to gauge a community success is on this thing over here. Whereas, you know, people sleeping on the streets are people everyone having their own homes. That's not that doesn't kind of matter. Only this little kind of beat over here. That's the stock market. I've just always wanted to just eat seems like a tough game. But yeah, that makes sense. What you said, yeah, it's just just where a lot of money is. Right? So if you think about banking is where all the money a lot of a lot of money is in the banking system. And that goes into the financial system. The financial system is what is sort of like what's what's what's oiling the wheels of the of the stock market and the trickle down economics. Oh, Don't worry. All right, let's move on to global politics. And I'll quickly go through these. So I don't know if you guys are sort of still paying attention to the war in Ukraine, it's sort of ongoing no end in sight. I think, potentially Russia is banking on the fact that they are all going to get bored. And it already feels like it's happening, right. Any moment. Now, there's gonna be a message that pops up on the screen. Are you still watching? Yeah, exactly. Right. But we don't have a long view, Western democracies. And obviously, the midterms are coming up in the US later in the year. So depending on where the mood is, but one good piece of news, the Russian ambassador to the UK, who's been a little bit controversial, since he started has said that Russia will new not use new tactical nuclear weapons. So they will? Not necessarily because that's, you know, there's no, you know, right. And I think that's, that's the part of the fear of all of this is we just don't know, but the Australian election, so we didn't have a chance to talk about that. In the build up. You guys were there. It was good news, as far as I was concerned, what? Yeah, why don't you? I've ranted enough, like you go fish you can do. And then I'll do a rant at the end. For me, the direction that Australia was going was not one I was enjoying. I don't want to live in a country where a very small proportion, get everything they want, and everyone else has to pay the price. As I was saying before, I want to make sure that we would that everyone gets attention and cared for and looked after, I should be a liberal voter. I'm a big investor, I run my own business. I'm university educated, like like, hit all the I live in, you know, a nice suburb, I hit all the demographics for it. I don't think I've ever voted for them. Because I want to be in a in a situation where everyone's cared for now, this new government has come in has all the right words. And there's a lot of us who are sitting back going, let's just see what happens. I'm very pleased that there are a lot of independence, because I think that they will put pressure on the new government to do things that are a bigger picture, a lot of the they call them till independence. They're very focused on, you know, environment and caring for the community a whole lot more. So I think that's going to be a good thing. So I think it's a positive, I think it's a positive for the country, there are still some people who think it's a negative, and who, who are bragging about how hard it's going to be three years of suffering. But anything that's going to help support the community and some of the stuff they've done in a very short time they've been in office has been good, like, certain refugees have brought them back from being overseas and born back home to where they were wanted to be. And there's, they've kept that we now have an arts minister for the first time in about three years. The Minister for Women is female, that's a good thing. So we have a lot more diversity in our representatives as well, which can only benefit us because you know, we've we've already referred to the Palm Island style, which is what a lot of our representatives were so I think it's a good thing, but it's it's what I'm waiting to see the action and it will take six to 12 months. And there are certain things that that I want them to act on that well, we'll just we'll see how it goes. Yeah. My take on these is not about labor and liberal. It was that bunch of people were appalling. Rape apologists, they covered up a rape in Parliament House. They called in the steam cleaners before they called the police. They did a report and it was never never saw the light of day. The guys Do not you know, they covered up the rorts the pork barreling. It's just it's there have been a disgrace. I've been ashamed to be Australian, the way Scott Morrison presented overseas, the way everything he did is not about being a liberal. He was just an appalling human that should never have been in charge of the country. And he did not ever he's put us back years and years and years. And it started back with Howard and and John Howard and all the things that he let slide. Even Susan Susan lay two s's because in numerology, if you have two S's and three S's in your name, means you're gonna have more fun, which he's now the new deputy Liberal leader, Susan, and she was environment minister and she led 160 animals come off the endangered list. They just just decided not to go and put the Tassie devil on the endangered list. And things like they were just on every level that we're pulling. And so it's not about it's not about labor, liberal until it's about better people, more human people are in charge and the TEALS they've tried to, they try to like Good. Yeah, they tried to make them listen, they are one, the guy, the lady that took over. He was so disgusting. The woman that took over from Josh Frydenberg, this was Alexander downer. She's sitting in on the panel with him, the woman. She's the Doctor of pediatric neurology at the Children's Hospital. She is not some woman. She is a highly qualified, intelligent, articulate woman that has ideas and plans. Josh Frydenberg was just one of the boys club. And even here, Tim Smith, we now set out here was Zoe Daniel, who's an ABC reporter, international. And she ran a really good thing. And he's this puffy white Xavier Boy, that each crushed his goddamn no was that no, that was the other one. And he was just the biggest baby about the whole thing. And they were just appalling. They need to go. They need to go away, permanently not get themselves. And we need to move on. We need to move on from this way of living and being looked after. Because they're not looking after us. They're just looking after their mates. Yeah. Yeah. So if you're both feeling hopeful, right? There's a message of, you know, one of the things I did was watch, because, you know, I'm out of the country, right? So I don't, I don't see the Australian news. Like you guys see it all the time. So I can only get bits and pieces of it. But I watched his acceptance speech. And I was like, okay, you know, just the words that he was using kindness, unity, you know, the humble man. Yeah. And he comes across that way. And he's a bit of a museo, too, right? So that that is surrounded by good people. Like he's surrounded by good people. And even, you know, they're gonna make mistakes. And because we've got such disgusting media, it's just gonna be the whole time. And the thing is, I think the biggest loss well, okay, two things, 76 seats to 26 seats, labor by itself and liberals by itself. So that's a big difference in seats. That's before all the extra people get added into that. I think it was that yet. And the other thing is the biggest loss on this was Murdoch, he he tried. And on the day, on the day, the election, from the Prime Minister's Office, came out a text to people saying that a boat had been left had come out was coming from Sri Lanka, there were boat people on the way. And Samantha made him one of the journalists here. She actually he should have been told, like a few days before, that a boat was on its way. And it was actually a political stunt. So that was sending a boat as a political stunt. And on the day, the text went out. It's like that is disgraceful. shameful, shameful. But But that, but that message that Murdoch didn't succeed? Yeah, I think is a really, really, really important one. But then, the other thing is, the millennials and the Gen Zed vote. So for the first time, their percentage is higher than the boomers so you astray, still won't have more voting power than our parents until 2028. Right. But the kids coming up behind us. They've got they've got the power now. And that's going to be rolling out around the world. And so the election campaign in Australia, they weren't even talking to the younger people. They were still talking to the older people. And I found that really incredible, because demographic shift had already happened. And they missed. Just the fact they missed that, though. It's like they got so used to only talking to the boomers, but they're still doing it now, Andrea? Yeah, still, they're still doing it. Now. They're still not, they're not even calling Anthony Albanese Prime Minister Albanese. It's Mr. Albanese. They're not even calling in the Prime Minister, the media. It's like what are you doing? We can see you. We can see what you're doing. Yeah, I know. But I think I think you know, it's a message to the world as well. I'm sure the Billy Bragg posts sort of saying yeah, how it's given people in the UK hope, you know that this will even the fact that he started off his acceptance speech with an acknowledgement of country and he's now set up that the press briefings there has a Aboriginal flag and a Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islander flag in the background, you know, like this, it's a lot of these little things that really make a difference. And because the future has to be inclusion, everyone has to have a seat at the table. And so, you know, he started well, and the actions will dictate it but as you say, there's hope. There's hope that, you know, going down this extreme profiteering, capitalistic following in the USA is footsteps or following the footsteps of Donald Trump, because one of the biggest dangers of Trump was other politicians went Oh, so you can just patently lie and people do that, you know, and that's what they were doing. So now it's, I think it's put a little bit more respect back into the parliament house, but the future will show I think there's one other point that I think we all need to really start taking on board as far as moving into the future. If we have to get behind the politicians who can? Who can do what is needed to to get the world back on track, right? And so, you know, wait and see what's he going to do? I think as communities, we need to start thinking in a different way. It's not you guys go and do your job, we all have to come together and do the job together. And I think that that's a mindset that we need to be embracing, like, you know, especially when it comes to the climate change, right? We've got to all come in, it's a community, everyone's got to be involved. And that's the thing that I think, you know, in terms of politics, a lot of people tend to me like Singapore is a place where people tend to say, Okay, you got to do the job, right, we elect you, you got to do the job. Yeah, there is a real need for you to convince your own peers. And that's something which is often left to somebody else to do. And then when you can't get something done, because it was not enough support. It kind of is something where we do have to do it. I mean, for me, I'm trying to, you know, every now and then I'll try and do something, which I think is worthwhile. You know, I'm trying to get people to stop doing fist bumps. It's, it's not it's not, it's not a very popular idea, because the audit is the safe way to deal with COVID Uncle is terrible, because how do you wrap your eye? You know, it's just one of those things. So we need to go out, and we need to go in and get what we want. I mean, I say we not necessarily a climate activist, but I think it's one of those things that people do have to get involved with the things that they want to be important that there's a reason why politics has been what it is, is because they're not enough things that are important enough to speak of, so that it doesn't become a thing. Like I have friends quite close to close friends, or in the US who were who were supporters of Trump for whatever reasons that they had. And we were quite appalled. And but you know, there's also this thing where you don't you don't want to try to cross certain lines, because some things that just like, you know, we don't we don't speak about certain things. It's just not polite, whatever it is. And there's a need for that. I mean, there's a need for there's a need for the skill of bringing up stuff that needs to be brought up. Yeah. When it comes to situations, we've lost the art of saying, How can we talk about something without attacking anyone without going well, you disagree with me? So you're the bad person? And talk about the idea? Yeah. I don't think we ever had that, though. And I get that. And yeah, we never had it was nice. Yeah, part of it is that, you know, we used to do a bit of debating in school. So how do we do it? It's got worse because on social medias, there's so often you'll see someone disagree. And the first thing that happens is, they started being attacked. Like there's even there's a law. I can't remember the score, but it's the first one to call the amount of naughty. Yeah, it is. And it just it happens. These these these, the vehemence, and the attacking that happens from the keyboard warriors is just outrageous. But yeah, yeah, I disagree with you educate me. What am I missing? Oh, you feel that way? Sorry, I talk too much. But sometimes, like, it's not your job to educate somebody, it's their job to educate themselves. And that's the other thing is, will you prove me wrong? Well, no, mate, you prove you right. And do it. So you know, do it in a civil manner? And and then we might chat. Yeah. Questions. We need better questions. Yeah. And we need to, we actually need to see, we need to see we got this show in Australia called, What's the one a q&a? And like we there was one night that q&a, and that all the scientists was really interesting. So I had scientists and people ask questions, and there's scientific answers. And there was no debate about the answers because it was science. And then but every other week, it's got the hard right wing idiot, and the and then the whatever. And then there's all this fighting, and then the the end, it's like that. And so the oldest showing us is how to be a dick. And it's like, Can you teach us how to, and can you give us waste? Can we see ways to discuss things? Can we see civil discourse? Can we see two people from different sides of an opinion? Having a conversation, please? Yeah, just just being just being mindful of the time as well. I want to leave time for work to be positive about being positive. Positive work? Yeah. All right. So we're going to move into our theme section staying positive in a world of negativity. So I call I saw some of the words you sent me but we are in a period of new shocks and new shocks. You just don't think you can get any worse than another one comes through right so They've been going through that. We've also been an info demic for the last few years. And that's not going away. And it goes into this started with COVID. And Black Lives Matter. Like, you name it, we've got it. So misinformation, fake news, we know all about that work. What are your thoughts? How do we stay positive? Yeah, well, let me just go a bit negative first, and then I'll fly back to the positive. Because what works we talked before about media and, and social media, etc. And it's all about clicks. It's all about eyeballs. It's all about, you know, getting you know, and so what works is the negative. So the political ads that we were bombarded with were all these negative ads, no one was standing up going, this is what I believe in. This is what I'm gonna do. So it was all the negative stuff. And you're looking at the the news aggregators, or the quasi news aggregators, like the board pandas and the whatever it's like that all they do is they go to read it and get all the MI and asshole kind of threads, they put it on the worst situation, the better the more clicks it is. We have this monkey brain, as Joe said before, where we, we look to this negative stuff. So it's how do we stay positive. And I was talking to a contact today. And he's just like, you know, I just don't do social media, I do LinkedIn. And I'm very careful about it. I just don't do it. Because it's not good for my health. I don't really watch the news. And if I do, it's pretty much the ABC here in Australia, because it's the national broadcaster, it feels like it's one of the more balanced approaches to news. But it is too easy to get sucked into the negativity and have this this spiral mental health as an issue is bigger than ever, because I we now acknowledge it and be two years of pandemic where our younger generations have all been too locked down. It's had massive impact. So it becomes a what do you do to stay positive? And look, I know, for me, one of the things that really helps me a lot is the art. You know, when we're all locked down, we're all looking at all these music videos and these amazing brass bands that Philippa was in, who were doing all these little different pieces that we're all watching and being amused, you know, there was a cover of days, like these are the Foo Fighters that a whole lot of different people did, there was some amazing videos of just people, I think it was in Rome, where they just been doing stuff out there windows and joining in with other people. And everyone's watching the recording of it going, Oh, that's lovely. Isn't that nice? And it makes me feel good. And yet, we're so focused on STEM and getting people studying science and technology that we forget about the arts and the importance of the arts and the importance of how it has us asking better questions how it has us taking time away from the seriousness to have a bit of a play. I know for me personally, I listen to a lot of music, I find it it's escape, it helps me not escape, it energizes me. And I know, part of my life is to make sure I have some hobbies that that give me energy to get through the week I sing and I sing in a choir. I'm doing a bit of welding and woodworking using reclaimed materials to create stuff. And it's in that act of creating something with my own hands or with my voice or whatever, that I feel much better about the world and it because it is it's very meditative on being present. I can't think about other stuff and it works for me. So how do we keep this, this focus on the positive because I gotta tell you, it's been hard like and I'm, I'm not always positive, super fun, happy bla bla bla, you know, it gets, I look at the future. And I'm very grateful. I don't have kids, because I'm like, I don't know what it's going to be like, it's not look good. When we've got the Antarctic and the Arctic Circle. That was I think it was 30 or 40 degrees Celsius above normal. That's not good. Time. You Yeah. And it's just like, and we look at, you know, the climate change stuff. And no one looks big picture. But actually one of the one of the countries that does is China and does it really well, because they don't have to worry about elections, right. So they, they can plan some of the long term stuff. But for a lot of us we only thinking in a couple of years because I've got to get elected. And that's someone else's problem. Companies are like, I've got to make money now because they're gonna get the stock price up and I'm gonna get my bonus now. And one of the one of the things we talk about is for the future, how do we make it so that we can use more sustainable energy and so we're looking at electric and battery cars and stuff. But to get all that you gotta mind more than we're currently mining, because you need all these exotic metals to make that sort of stuff. So it's a real challenge. So, my thought is, it's really important for each of us to look at what gives me you know, what brings joy what brings me relief or what gives me something a value in my life that I can do without harming others. Although my father in law used to so that people listening to my music was harmful for his health. So it's like, what can we do to keep that joy that in a seemingly negative world? How do we maintain that that positive? So I'm interested in your thoughts about is what is it that you do that helps you stay positive, maybe Joe, give us your euro, euro happy chappy kind of stuff. You've got a series of challenges in your life as we all do, what do you do to stay positive? I think someone's dosing me. I mean, that's, that's, that's what I'm what must be going on. I don't know, I've always had a real thick skin. And I'm always looking for the funny side of everything. And I must say that that hasn't always set me in a good an on a good path. Because, you know, I'm the guy who makes the jokes at the funeral, you know, and finds it really funny. And occasionally, someone else does as well. But I sprinted across that line of decency. Well, oh, look, it's funny over that side, let's go. Well, I you know, so I, I do actually think about the big problem, the big problems of the world. And I do wonder, you know, these bigger questions like, would the world be a better place, if, as part of the process of becoming a world leader, you had to have a guided acid trip? You know, I don't, and I have, I haven't had any experience myself, but the way I Oscar, I mean, any number of things. The psilocybin, PCP news, or whatever, you know, whatever, whatever you're supposed to be. Because I hear that, that opens up certain connections in your, in your, in your empathy, connect your empathy wires and stuff like that. It also gets rid of things like depression, and whatever. If there was a way for that, kind of, and here, I'm completely off to off the off the farm here, right. But you know, it's almost like you want to, if you're gonna cherry pick things, why don't we cherry pick the best? Or some of the craziest ideas, right? So from drug culture, what if we were more hippy, and some of the way we did things? Because I think the world might be might be a better place, I think, I think if we were able to figure out you know, there are lots of brilliant people I know, you know, who have, who occasionally smoke, some weed, you know, they, they're still able to function, I think it's always about balance. I hate that we're in Singapore, where everything is, it's either allowed, we have a very strange situation here with either completely allowed, completely disallowed, or we'll close one eye on this particular thing. But yeah, I think it'd be an experiment, I think we'll see, we'll see what happens. You know, if people first of all, whether they have a higher level of consciousness, or they just believe they have a higher level of consciousness, I think that would be good. Yeah, what about up Philipa? Sorry, how do you stay having Is it is it playing your instruments? Well see, I, I struggle with my mental health. So I'm medicated for that. And so you know, I do everything I can to keep the darkness away. So sometimes it doesn't work. And then other times, like, you know, it's going to winter. So I have to make sure I try to make sure I exercise every day, I have to make sure I eat properly. I when when you're in flow, that's my best place. And so like on a Wednesday, I take three or four band rehearsals from 730 in the morning in Dandenong. And the last one finishes in nine o'clock in Footscray. And that's all day rehearsals. And it's like, but when you're in the middle of the band creating, you're in flow, and it's all everything goes away. And so it's not playing the instruments. It's in the middle of everyone else's energy and kind of like shape shifting the energy. It's a bit wonky. But yeah, and so trying to get into flow, or cooking something or just being in flow. So trying to find those moments where it all goes away. So that's what I look for. Andrew? Oh, god, it's such a good question. I'm about to launch a podcast just me talking about my ride on the Eco anxiety training that I've been on basically since the beginning of this year. And it's, it's been Filipinos about it. It's been like I am very, very good at being able to consume a lot of news and across a lot of topics and be objective, but this year, I I couldn't I couldn't hold on to it because everything that's happening from a climate perspective is happening faster. You know, we're going to talk about it after in a minute but I already had in my mind, I'd already accepted what was coming. But my timeframe was a little bit further out. I always knew the timeframe was closer than what we were reading in the media. But the but the timeframe is now, right. There's one one piece that I've got coming up, which is, you know, the storms that are going on in, in the Southern Hemisphere. What's it called, in Israeli study? not expected until 2018. You know, what's going on in the environment not expected to 2040 that example of, of the both poles having the extreme temperatures? I don't know what it looks like, you know, I don't know, I don't know what the outcome is going to be. And I don't know how quickly we're going to have to make decisions. You know, we heard in India when the recent heatwave? I mean, first of all, there's the whole famine that's coming off the back of it, what does that look like? How's that going to impact us? And then there's the other side of, you know, birds dropping out of the sky in India, because they're just dying from the heat that the cow is dropping dead on the street. Right. And, you know, someone says to me, well, it's only one degrees increase. So if for every one degrees of increase, That's 10 degrees of increase in real terms. So when we grew up in Australia, 40 degree days were they happened, but they were rare right? Now, right? Now it's coming more towards 50. Right. So you think if we get up to two degrees, what India and Pakistan have been going through, That's 60 degrees, that you can't live in that and and I'm living in a part of the world that's gonna get hammered by climate change. So we're talking about the decisions we need to make. So what I need to do is I need to look at all the permeations and come to a conclusion and say, I need to just have a, I need to get out of gray. And I need to get clear, right? And it's still about acceptance. This is the situation we're in, what am I going to do about it? And then I get into action. So I don't take like Philippi said to me a couple of weeks ago, when I rang her up when I was in a pretty bad state. What do you do to distract yourself? And at that point, I just couldn't think of anything. Yeah. Yeah. And I've lost my music, right? And, you know, obviously, the pool and the beach and all that sort of stuff. But if you go to the beach right now, it's covered in trash. So that just depresses me. And then I screw up my back picking it up. And so I'm not very good at avoiding the negativity. But the one thing as you guys all know, is I can always have a laugh. I can always say the funny side of life. Yeah, it's so good. Robin Williams, Andrea. That doesn't mean it's not. Yeah, it's just that I genuinely I genuinely can laugh at life. The absurdity of it, you know, but I've struggled this year, and I know a lot of people have struggled. I mean, a lot of people disappeared off social media, and they've only just recently come back, right? Because there's just too much so we are going through an extraordinary time for the world. And I think people have really got to take care of themselves. So it's very difficult at the moment, so you know, look, look for the good stuff. Look for the beauty, celebrate your friends and their achievements and to be an excited pants about the Jubilee because why not? You know, you know, just just look look for the joy rather than Yeah, in a constant state. Okay, I'm gonna use the term XIV bands. That's, that's the big one. Yeah, that's it. It's one of my chapters. Andrea Edwards. Exactly bands. Seven different flavors. Yeah. It's it's one of the it's one of the chapters in my book because people taught me to be an exciting pants over stupid stuff like royal weddings. And I'd be like, before that I'd be like, How could anyone possibly be excited? Wouldn't it's a childish excitement that we we went during your body? Yeah, funny. That song. uncommon courage. That's a great song. Just repeat. What about your work? Yeah, as I say, it's just looking for those things. I really enjoy the company of people. I know, I've suffered from spending a lot of time at home and not mixing with the large numbers of people that I've done. So it is that stuff like going to quiet it is stuff like hanging out with friends and just talking shit, you know, and being able to do that. I also enjoy getting in touch with nature, which is great. So we have the shed where we've got, you know, a few acres that we're planning a whole lot of trees on, and just getting into the steel and the quiet and you know, we have no tech up there. So I think stepping away from the tech is is a really important thing for me to just, you know, to just chill but yeah, it's tapping into that creative side really helps me Yeah. And as Joe said, Don't take life too seriously now gets out of life. It's too important to be taken seriously. So can I can I just drop a bit of science onto the onto the whole thing. You know, like they they're just thinking about how to how do you create a sense of well being In self prepare self propelled motion through nature, it's something about the way our brains work. If you walk through nature, and you it's that movement that is self propelled, it gives you a very, it gives you something positive in your, in your, in your in the neuroscience perspective. And the other thing that you can do if you're, if you're systematically trying to feel better, is laugh even when you don't have a reason to laugh, that, that, that actually creates the you know, it's not the real set of the super real reaction, you create enough of that reaction. So your body gets the benefit of a laugh anyway. So it's a crazy thing. And I wasn't recommend one one orgasm a day, but you know, it's so much. But oh, okay. Okay, we haven't got time to go through the environment stuff. So I need to, I need to bring it up high on so that we do it. But there was a good piece today came out of the White House that Biden Biden, Vice President Harris, is looking at a global plan on global water security. And that's a really interesting piece to have a dig into. But like I said, there's his Japanese. I mean, there's some really good pieces in there's always some good pieces. But Israeli study climate change already causing storm levels only expected in 2018. And basically what this there's a considerable intensified intensification of winter storms in the southern hemisphere. That wasn't expected. And one example of why this is important is the roles of storm play in regulating the temperature at the Earth's poles. Winter storms are responsible for the majority of the heat transport away from tropical regions towards the poles. Without their contribution, the average pole temperature would be about 32 degrees Celsius lower. So basically, this poses a real and significant threat to societies in the southern hemisphere in the next decades. Anyway, so I thought I'd let you guys know that because you're down there. And another. Yeah. But you know, I know. I've told you, Phil a bit. Don't Don't read it. I'll read it. And I'll let you know when you need to do it. Because if it's not you, but I'm willing to do that, but there's a cost to it, right. But the other piece I really want to encourage everyone to read is I just shared it this morning, but six great transitions to regenerate nature. And yeah, it's a really cool piece. So you know, we didn't talk about Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and plate to bed. I don't ever want to know. Happy. You know what it? Nothing. Yeah. But you know, it reminded me of Lindy Chamberlain. Ah, yeah. And just trial by media. How she cried how she didn't cry when she was dressed. Like all of it. I just, I found it. Incredibly upsetting. Listening. Okay, she'd be shouldn't Yeah. Yeah. Oh, because what's his name? Oh, JC. Yeah, no, not behind closed doors. peers. What do you call it a the 12 people? Not that's it? Yeah. All right. What are you watching, listening? Reading? What's taking your attention at the moment? Oh, I'm gonna go first, because I've got a list. Oh. All right. animated films. And I do love animated films. One came out probably about three to six months ago called Mitchell's versus the machines. It is brilliant. It is it's on Netflix. It's not only is the storyline good, the characters are great, but the animation is different. It's not that Pixar nearly real life is this somehow they've done a 3d ish to D kind of image. And it's fantastic. And there are so many little things in it that you don't realize. It's a great film and it is about our look it takes takes the mickey out of the Elon Musk's and the Facebook's of the world and stuff. So that's a really good, good against versus machines. Sorry, good for kids. Yeah, good for kids. Yep. There's not even swearing disenchantment. On the other hand, definitely not for kids. Again, it's animated comes from Matt groaning the founder of The Simpsons. It's up to about season three. Now that you know, the third season sort of lost its way a little bit but it's just an absolute cracker. New music that I've just found. There's a group in Germany who just do some funky music they call the funky times, so I've been listening to them. There's also a fantastic cover of dude did it do Did Tom's diner and it's a German band who do it quite young. But when the guy that one of the guys sings, his voice is so gravelly, he looks like he should be 150 years old with wrinkly skin, but it's just a brilliant cover. So check that out. All right, over to you guys. I've had my time. Nice, nice. You go Joe, I've got to try and think of something like I happened across CSI Vegas, which is kind of a restart of the CSI guys. The original season. So they brought back the original Grissom and Sarah and it's not so good that what they've done is that God those two characters come in to kickstart the new season so that they're going to be new seasons coming out. So it wasn't it wasn't canceled, but man they you know that the two leads from the original CSI with the they've lost their timing and lost their sparkle but luckily it was just an excuse to start the restart the series so but yeah, new cast for CSI Vegas, and that was quite fun. And I'm spending a lot of time on YouTube watching reviews for videos. Oh, I know I'm doing as well I'm spending too much time watching Golden Buzzer moments for Britain's Got Talent i i get i I get I get you know it's such a it's so emotionally fulfilling. I've sent you a few clips here and there right I mean, when I find something that that's your along your your lines, but it's I love I just love those moments and I and I do it partly because I enjoy it so much and partly because I'm doing research for the for the presentation coaching that I'm doing so I'm talking about narrative and how things mean things and so I you know, everything's worked for me and at least some of it makes me cry. Nice. I liked I liked it. I liked those shows do not always but I like and Phil but so Jamie and I are quite fond of the old trivia television show. So we watch eight out of 10 Cats does countdown show. Every night we get home we sit on our couch after rehearsal, cross our legs and just go through trying to find when we have them. We guide you by what Rachel is wearing. Right now. I've seen her that I've seen know that dress. Yeah, so that's pretty much an essay and there's a show in Australia. Sean McHale of mad as hell. Did you want to watch it? We're Oh my god. He's, it's like, yeah, it's just hardcore satire. Really funny. So yeah, most of that other stuff. music wise, you know, we, the kids, the youth band kids in Hyde Street, which are in Footscray. So we have to do much for a festival we've got coming up. So one of the moms in the Dambusters so we got Dan masters out do you know the Dambusters? Deep up up up up not from the it's a it's a piece of music written about the dam or the second world war now would have been second world war did bomb. And they all love it. Yep. So the kids have just you know, reignited Second World War March music in the children of Melbourne. There's something about playing March music, right? I mean, it's just they love it. slavers? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yep. Yep. Except when you're only gonna hear poems Dinah with Philippa being a solo in the middle. A much anymore, but um, you know, I'll conduct it. I'll put it together for you. Okay. All right. So we're talking about music. So I'm getting a fairly decent education and heavy metal, heavy metal music at the moment, because most of the boys are really, really into it. And I gotta tell you, there's some good stuff in there. It's really good. Yeah, and it's like mental health. But it's not listened to. What sort of music what sort of bands are they gonna? Well, I mean, what's, what's the old guy that Metallica is, obviously the old guy was born. But what was his original band? Like seven seven? Yeah, so it looks he's rocking out to Black Sabbath. And I'm sort of listening to him for the first time and it's, yeah, no, but there's some really good stuff and there's some new buttons. Don't ask me their names. I don't know him. But I plan as well. Some great Led Zeppelin stuff. Fantastic. Yeah. The funny thing for me is hard rock as I remember, it isn't hard rock anymore. No, no. Metal it really isn't like heavy metal is really not thrash metal is bent heavy metal is just a it's just a bit of rock. But yeah. They play the oldies station, you know? Yeah. But then they will play me So many other times, it was big and fat and the drums, and there was a chalice too, that was the bass player because they couldn't get an electric bass player. So they got a challenge as a bass player and, and I'm like, oh sure it's a cello. But they've convinced me it well, so I'm gonna have to look at it, but it was big and fat. And I was like, okay, driving along with the boys rocking so that they're happy that their mom likes it. But one thing I did watch last night was a movie on Netflix called here today. And it's got Tiffany Haddish and Billy Crystal, and basically Billy Crystal's character is suffering a form of dementia. And it's he he meets Tiffany and I love her. She's brilliant. And it's a story of obviously dementia and getting older. So it's kind of got that Grace and Frankie vibe of facing up to reality. But it's love and friendship and family and you know, trauma and pain from the past as well as beauty. You know, so I found it a really beautiful I was it was an accidental find. And if you want to, you know, so one of the things that I do to stop negativity, any viewing I do tries to be focused on something beautiful. Any TV because I face ugliness all day when I'm reading the news. So I try to focus without ads, Andrea? Because it keeps you your serotonin levels up and your cortisone levels down. Right. Well, Netflix, they don't have ads, obviously. But yeah, and then the boys it's really good for boys to do heavy metal music and punch stuff for their mental health as well. Okay, well, that's good. Well, they're doing all of that so perfectly. GOOD film about metal on Netflix's metal lords. Crap. They recently watched it, but they they also got me to watch the dirt with them. Have you watched the dirt? I know of about I haven't watched it. Yeah, have a look. It's lots of uncomfortable moments. But you know, they're boys. Anyway. Let's wrap it up. Well, Rick, thank you so much for being a guest on the show for the first time. Yeah, just good to have conversations about stuff. Right. And public speaking work. You'd be good at it yet. Phillip, thanks for joining us. I really appreciate it. I've really enjoyed being here again. Well, I'm watching myself and I'm pretty sure I've got ADHD because I didn't stop moving the whole time. I didn't realize that. How bad I just can't stop myself. Maybe got worse. I definitely think we're ADHD both of us. Yeah. Oops. And Joe, I hope you don't. I wasn't trying to be aggressive about stuff before. No, no, I just got a little scared at all. That's a great sign for the boys be aggressive. Great song. Okay. All right. Yeah. Anyway, I'm loving the passion for it. So thanks, guys. Thanks, everyone. I hope you enjoyed being here and let's meet today and we'll see you soon. So everyone say goodbye now. In the broadcast. End the broadcast